Author Archives: Julian Booker, MD

About Julian Booker, MD

I am a noninvasive cardiologist at the University of Alabama at Birmingham specializing in multi-modality cardiovascular imaging and preventative medicine. My training was primarily at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston TX and the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda MD.

Atrial Fibrillation – Part 2 – Blood thinners

Posted on October 3, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD Although we identify only four chambers with a normal human heart, the left atrium has a small finger-like pouch attachment most commonly called the appendage. Blood flow within the appendage can be slower than the rest … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog | Tagged Anticoagulant, Apixaban, Artificial heart valve, atrial fibrillation, blood thinner, Dabigatran, Food and Drug Administration, INR, mini stroke, pradaxa, Rivaroxaban, Stroke, tia, vitamin k, warfarin, xarelto | Leave a comment

Atrial Fibrillation – Part 1 – What is it?

Posted on September 28, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD Atrial fibrillation, sometimes called a-fib, is the commonest cardiac arrhythmia (abnormal heart rhythm). In contrast to the metronome-like heart rhythm that we are used to, atrial fibrillation is characterized by an irregularly irregular heartbeat. If you … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog | Tagged alcohol, amiodarone, atrial fibrillation, COPD, coumadin, ecg, EKG, Electrocardiography, Heart failure, hypertension, hyperthyroidism, metoprolol, Mitral valve, pradaxa, Thrombus, warfarin | 1 Comment

Stroke – Part 1 – Types of Stroke

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD Stroke falls under the category of cerebrovascular disease meaning disease involving the blood vessels of the central nervous system (brain, spinal cord and visual system). We all know someone that has had a stroke but many … Continue reading →

Posted in Hypertension, Julian Booker myHeart Blog, Preventative Medicine | Tagged aorta, atrial fibrillation, Bleeding, Blood, Blood pressure, Brain, carotid, hypertension, Magnetic resonance imaging, plaque, Stroke, tia, Transient ischemic attack | 1 Comment

Chronic kidney disease – Part 2 – a little more

Posted on September 9, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD You may recall in an earlier post a discussion of Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) risk equivalency. A CHD risk equivalent is a disease or cluster of diseases that places you at a significantly increased risk for … Continue reading →

Posted in Hypertension, Julian Booker myHeart Blog, Preventative Medicine | Tagged ACE inhibitor, American Heart Association, angiotensin receptor blocker, avapro, benicar, Cardiovascular disease, carotid, CHD, Cholesterol, Chronic kidney disease, Congenital heart defect, coronary, Coronary disease, diabetes, health, heart disease, hypertension, micardis, PAD, peripheral artery disease, proteinuria, statin | 1 Comment

Chronic kidney disease – Part 1 – The basics

Posted on September 8, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD I have spent a great deal of time discussing medical conditions that directly affect your heart or are a consequence of heart disease. Today’s topic is not specifically a heart related condition but is directly related … Continue reading →

Posted in Hypertension, Julian Booker myHeart Blog, Preventative Medicine | Tagged ACE inhibitor, Blood pressure, Cardiovascular disease, Chronic kidney disease, Coronary artery disease, diabetes, dialysis, Disease, edema, GFR, Heart failure, hypertension, Kidney, Renal function, shortness of breath, weakness | 3 Comments

What is a stress test?

Posted on August 22, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD Unless otherwise stated, any stress test referenced on a MyHeart related blog post will refer specifically to cardiac stress tests. Other heart related stress tests like cardiopulmonary exercise tests can be discussed at a later date. … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog | Tagged adenosine, angina, CAD, Cardiac stress test, Chest pain, Coronary artery disease, Coronary circulation, diabetes, dobutamine, ecg, echo, Echocardiography, EKG, Electrocardiography, health, Heart, heart disease, lexiscan, nuclear, persantine, Stress, treadmill | 1 Comment

Echocardiography – Part 2 – Transesophageal echo

Posted on August 13, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD Transesophageal echocardiography, or TEE, is a special echo technique that your physician may request. During a TEE, the transducer is not placed on the chest but is swallowed by the patient. The probe is about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog | Tagged ablation, aorta, atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, cardioversion, Doppler effect, Echocardiography, health, heart valve, heart valve disease, Julian Booker, regurgitation, Stroke, TEE, Thrombus, tia, TOE, transesophageal, transoesophageal | 2 Comments

Echocardiography – Part 1 – What is an echocardiogram

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD An echocardiogram or echo for short, is a powerful tool used primarily by cardiologists to evaluate the heart’s structure and function. An echocardiogram is a type of sonogram which means that it uses sound waves to … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog | Tagged aortic regurgitation, aortic stenosis, Atrial septal defect, Cardiac muscle, congenital heart disease, contrast, Definity, Echocardiography, ejection fraction, heart disease, Heart failure, Mitral regurgitation, Mitral valve prolapse, myxoma, Optison, PFO, regurgitation, Sound, Ventricular septal defect | 4 Comments

The Fish Oil Diaries – Part 2 – Supplements and a Western diet

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker What is the Western diet pattern or Western diet? The western diet is a common dietary pattern found in a number of developed countries and is growing in popularity in developing countries. There are two common characteristics … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog, Preventative Medicine | Tagged American Heart Association, Cardiovascular disease, Cholesterol, Coronary artery disease, diet, Epanova, Fish oil, GISSI, hypertension, Lovaza, Mediterranean, Mediterranean diet, Myocardial infarction, Omega-3 fatty acid, The New England Journal of Medicine, triglyceride, Vascepa | 2 Comments

The Fish Oil diaries – Part 1- high fat diets and heart protection

Posted on July 30, 2013 by Julian Booker, MD

By Julian Booker, MD The fish oil diaries may be controversial and upset some people. Fish oil therapy has become a staple of many American’s fight against heart disease. Some take prescription fish oil, over the counter fish oil, cod … Continue reading →

Posted in Julian Booker myHeart Blog, Preventative Medicine | Tagged American Heart Association, Coronary artery disease, Epanova, fat, Fish oil, Harvard School of Public Health, heart attack, Heart failure, Lovaza, low fat, McDonald, Mediterranean, Mediterranean diet, Mediterranean Sea, olive oil, The New England Journal of Medicine, Vascepa | 2 Comments